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‘The Day of Reckoning Is Upon Us’: Graham Announces Comey Will Testify on Russia Probe While Mueller Refused
Former FBI director James Comey has agreed to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee on September 30 regarding “Crossfire Hurricane,” the counterintelligence investigation into whether President Trump’s campaign colluded with Russia to influence the 2016 election, Senator Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.) announced Wednesday. "The day of reckoning is upon us when it comes to Crossfire Hurricane," said Graham, the Republican chairman of the Senate panel, in an appearance on Fox News."I appreciate Mr. Comey coming before the committee and he will be respectfully treated but asked hard questions. We are negotiating with [former Deputy FBI Director Andrew] McCabe; we are hoping to get him without a subpoena -- time will tell."Graham added that former special counsel Robert Mueller had declined a request to testify about his own investigation, saying he “doesn’t have enough time.” Ahead of Comey’s testimony, the committee will likely interview two FBI employees who interviewed Russian analyst Igor Danchenko, the primary source for Christopher Steele’s Trump dossier.Graham has been following up on an investigation by the Justice Department inspector general that found under Comey’s leadership, the FBI had misled the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to get surveillance orders against former Trump aide Carter Page.The report said the FBI used the Steele dossier as justification to surveil Page, but did not disclose that during interviews with the FBI and Justice Department in January 2017 Danchenko had warned that Steele embellished parts of the dossier. Graham said he aims to uncover which FBI officials were told about Danchenko’s statements during the interviews in which an FBI counterintelligence agent and a supervisory intelligence analyst took part. “Now who did the intel analyst and the case agent tell?” Graham said. “We’re going to talk to them in the next week to 10 days.”The case agent has been identified as Steven Somma, a veteran counterintelligence investigator in the FBI’s New York Field Office, the Daily Caller reported. Somma, who was involved in several aspects of Crossfire Hurricane, was the first FBI investigator to suggest applying for a FISA warrant against Page.In May, Graham requested documents related to FBI supervisory intelligence analyst Brian Auten, though the FBI has declined to say whether he is the analyst mentioned in the IG report.
MBS Day Ahead: Markets Debating Next Move After Fed; Update on Mortgage Spreads
Posted To: MBS Commentary
Yesterday's Fed announcement managed to deliver the bare minimum of the market's expectations and underdeliver on fairly reasonable hopes. That resulted in a logical protest from both stocks and bonds. Each had walked their own cautious path leading up to the Fed. Bonds were definitely sideways. Stocks were gradually improving, but may well have been sideways had they not been bouncing back from the big weakness in August. As of this morning, stocks are losing more ground and bond yields have been more willing to follow. Still, that's no guarantee about the rest of the day/week/month. Both sides of the market are searching for direction in their own way. Stocks are faced with a decision about whether or not to press back up into all-time high territory or take the opportunity for...(read more)Forward this article via email: Send a copy of this story to someone you know that may want to read it.
Credit Score, Lead Source, QC Products; Free Western Secondary and Other Events; Agencies React to Disasters
Posted To: Pipeline Press
Why is it that every time I call some place, I hear the recording, “Wait times to speak to a representative are longer than normal.”? Why can’t I ever figure out a “normal” time to call? I bet that the Federal Emergency Management Agency FEMA ) always has operators who pick up the phone. And the Agency needs them, given the rain and floods, wildfires, hurricanes, and windstorms that have hit the United States recently. FEMA’s disaster declarations drive the policies and procedures of lenders and investors, especially in terms of collateral and credit. Lots of disaster news below. And looking ahead, thank you to Carol K. who sent this NYT article titled, “ How Climate Migration Will Reshape America .” “Millions will be displaced. Where will...(read more)Forward this article via email: Send a copy of this story to someone you know that may want to read it.
Isis leader gave intelligence to the US leading to deaths of al Qaeda fighters, new documents show
The current Isis leader gave intelligence to US forces leading to strikes on al-Qaeda, newly released files show. Documents released on Thursday suggest Muhammad Sa'id Abdal-Rahman al-Mawla gave information after his arrest in 2008 on dozens of fellow jihadists as well as the structure of al Qaeda in Mosul. He allegedly provided names for 68 al-Qaeda fighters including 19 from photographs. Three Tactical Interrogation Reports released by the Combating Terrorism Centre (CTC) allege al-Mawla, who at the time was an al-Qaeda judge, identified leading figures behind assassinations, kidnappings and the production of improved explosive devices, used to kill coalition forces. One jihadist was a Moroccan national called Abu Jasim Abu Qaswarah. Thought to be the second-in-command of al-Qaeda in Iraq at the time, he was killed by US forces eight months after al-Mawla named him as a member of the terrorist group.
Navalny team alleges Novichok found in hotel water bottle
Colleagues of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny said Thursday that a water bottle with a trace of the Novichok nerve agent was found in his hotel room in the Siberian city of Tomsk after he fell ill on a flight from there to Moscow last month. Navalny later was flown to Germany, where he was kept in an induced coma for more than two weeks as he was treated with an antidote at Berlin's Charite hospital. Members of his team accused the Kremlin of involvement in the poisoning, charges that Russian officials have vehemently denied.
Reports: Barr told prosecutors to consider charging violent protesters with sedition
During a phone call last week with federal prosecutors, Attorney General William Barr said they should consider charging anyone who committed a violent crime during recent protests with sedition, people familiar with the matter told The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times on Wednesday.This was a very unusual suggestion, as the federal sedition law is rarely invoked, and his proposal startled some people on the call, the Times reports. Federal prosecutors have so far charged more than 200 people with violent crimes related to the protests, with most accused of arson or assaulting federal officers.Research by the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project shows that more than 93 percent of the anti-racism and anti-police brutality protests over the summer were peaceful, the Times reports. FBI officials have said most people who committed violent acts during the demonstrations took advantage of the situation, using the protests as an opportunity to get aggressive, and police departments reported far-right and far-left fringe groups were involved. Barr, meanwhile, has insisted most of the violence was caused by left-wing agitators.Two people briefed on the matter told the Times Barr has also asked members of the Justice Department's civil rights division to look into whether any criminal charges can be filed against Jenny Durkan, the Democratic mayor of Seattle, for allowing citizens to set up a police-free protest zone near downtown. Durkan and President Trump repeatedly clashed on the best way to handle the situation.More stories from theweek.com How a productivity phenomenon explains the unraveling of America How the Trump-Russia story was buried The conservatives who want to undo the Enlightenment
